System And Method For Remotely Identifying Physical Location Of Communications Device

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for evaluating a customer premise equipment (CPE) device. A network element management system may send an alteration request to a configurable coaxial tap. The alteration request may cause the configurable coaxial tap to alter the characteristics of the configurable coaxial tap and/or to manipulate the radio frequency (RF) characteristics of a CPE device coupled to the configurable coaxial tap. The network element management system may receiving impaired operation reports from a cable modem termination system (CMTS), and send an un-alteration request to the configurable coaxial tap. The un-alteration request may cause the configurable coaxial tap to undo the alterations to the characteristics of the configurable coaxial tap or to undo the manipulated RF characteristics of the CPE. The network element management system may receive and use information the CMTS to determine modem-tap-port correlations and the physical location of the CPE.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/175,989, entitled “System And Method For Remotely IdentifyingPhysical Location Of Communications Device” filed Feb. 15, 2021, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

A theft of service (ToS) attack is a cyberattack in which a person orentity obtains access to a resource or service (e.g., bandwidth, networkaccess, Internet Protocol (IP) services, etc.) without lawfullycompensating the service provider for the use of those resources orservices. Increasingly, ToS attacks are being perpetuated by nefariousactors through a variety of different types of unauthorized orillegitimate devices, such as rogue modems, orphan modems, clonedmodems, persistent duplicate MAC addresses, etc. These unauthorized orillegitimate devices may cause network congestion and/or consume asignificant amount of limited network resources (e.g., networkbandwidth, etc.) without compensating the service provider for the useof those resources. In addition, these unauthorized or illegitimatedevices are increasingly used by hackers, thieves, organized fraudrings, and other nefarious actors to launch cyber-attacks, gain remotecontrol of devices, steal private or sensitive information, hide theirtrue identities, or engage in other malicious activities. Accordingly,new and improved solutions that better identify and respond tounauthorized or illegitimate devices will be beneficial to internetservice providers and the consumers of their services.

SUMMARY

The various aspects include method of evaluating a customer premiseequipment (CPE) device, which may include sending, via a processor in anetwork element management system, an alteration request to aconfigurable coaxial tap, the alteration request causing theconfigurable coaxial tap to alter the characteristics of theconfigurable coaxial tap and/or manipulate the radio frequency (RF)characteristics of a customer premise device (CPE) coupled to theconfigurable coaxial tap. The method may further include sendingalteration information to a data repository, receiving impairedoperation reports from a cable modem termination system and sending theimpaired operation reports to the data repository, sending anun-alteration request to the configurable coaxial tap to undo thealterations to the characteristics of the configurable coaxial tapand/or to correct or undo the manipulated RF characteristics of the CPE,sending un-alteration information to the data repository, and receivingrestored operation reports from the cable modem termination system andsending the restored operation reports to the data repository.

In some aspects, the methods may further include generating amodem-tap-port correlation. In some aspects, the methods may furtherinclude using the generated modem-tap-port correlation to determine thephysical location of the CPE.

In some aspects, the methods may further include using determinedphysical location of the CPE to determine an Internet Protocol (IP)address of the CPE. In some aspects, the methods may further includeusing determined physical location of the CPE to determine a mediaaccess control (MAC) address of the CPE.

In some aspects, generating the modem-tap-port correlation may includereceiving information identifying the CPE, receiving the alterationinformation, receiving the impaired operation reports, and generatingthe modem-tap-port correlation based on the received informationidentifying the CPE, the received alteration information, and thereceived impaired operation report. In some aspects, generating themodem-tap-port correlation may further include receiving un-alterationinformation, receiving restored operation reports, and generating themodem-tap-port correlation based on the received information identifyingthe CPE, received alteration information, received impaired operationreport, received un-alteration information, and the received restoredoperation reports.

Further aspects may include a computing device or system (e.g., a smarttap device, customer premise equipment (CPE), network element managementsystem, etc.) having a processor configured with processor-executableinstructions to perform various operations corresponding to the methodsdiscussed above. Further aspects may include a non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium having stored thereonprocessor-executable instructions configured to cause a computing deviceprocessor to perform various operations corresponding to the methodoperations discussed above. Further aspects may include a computingdevice having various means for performing functions corresponding tothe method operations discussed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, andtogether with the general description given above and the detaileddescription given below, serve to explain the features of variousembodiments.

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram conceptually illustrating an examplecommunications system suitable for use by various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram that illustrates impairments that couldresult from upstream communications between a CPE device and a CMTS.

FIG. 3 is an activity diagram that illustrates the components,operations, and communications in a system configured to determine thelocation of a CPE device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an activity diagram that illustrates the components,operations, and communications in an system configured to determine thelocation of a CPE device in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a system block diagram that illustrates a system that includesa smart tap equipped with a packet decoder and a modulator-demodulatorin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example architecture of a configurable coaxial tapsuitable for implementing the various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a component diagram of example computing systems that suitablefor implementing the various embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are process flow diagrams illustrating methods ofdetermining the location of a CPE device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 9 is a component diagram of an example computing system suitablefor implementing the various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.References made to particular examples and implementations are forillustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention or the claims.

In overview, some embodiments include smart tap devices that areconfigured to alter the pre-equalization coefficients and/or RFcommunications from that which may be currently configured on the CMTSto a given CPE device in order to cause the given CPE device to alertthe CMTS of impaired operation. The smart tap devices (or anothercomponent in the network) may correlate the CPE device that reports theimpaired condition with that of the remote device configuration alteringthe RF communications so that a physical location of the given CPEdevice in question on the communications network may be determined. Byknowing the physical communications network location, a physical addressof the given CPE device may also be determined. The physical locationand physical address of the CPE device may be used for troubleshootingnetwork problems, locating compromised devices used in Theft-of-Service,as well as for aiding law-enforcement requests.

The term “service provider network” is used generically herein to referto any network suitable for providing consumers with access to theInternet or IP services over broadband connections. Service providernetworks may encompass both wired and wireless networks/technologies.Examples of wired network technologies and networks that may be includedwithin a service provider network include cable networks, fiber opticnetworks, hybrid-fiber-cable networks, Ethernet, local area networks(LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), wide area networks (WAN),networks that implement the data over cable service interfacespecification (DOCSIS), networks that utilize asymmetric digitalsubscriber line (ADSL) technologies, etc. Examples of wireless networktechnologies and networks that may be included within a service providernetwork include third generation partnership project (3GPP), long termevolution (LTE) systems, third generation wireless mobile communicationtechnology (3G), fourth generation wireless mobile communicationtechnology (4G), fifth generation wireless mobile communicationtechnology (5G), global system for mobile communications (GSM),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), high-speed downlinkpacket access (HSDPA), 3GSM, general packet radio service (GPRS), codedivision multiple access (CDMA) systems (e.g., cdmaOne, CDMA2000™),enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), advanced mobile phonesystem (AMPS), digital AMPS (IS-135/TDMA), evolution-data optimized(EV-DO), digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX), wireless local areanetwork (WLAN), Wi-Fi Protected Access I & II (WPA, WPA2), Bluetooth®,land mobile radio (LMR), and integrated digital enhanced network (iden).Each of these wired and wireless technologies involves, for example, thetransmission and reception of data, signaling and/or content messages.

Any references to terminology and/or technical details related to anindividual wired or wireless communications standard or technology arefor illustrative purposes only, and not intended to limit the scope ofthe claims to a particular communication system or technology unlessspecifically recited in the claim language.

The term “computing system” may be used generically herein to refer toany electronic device that includes a programmable processor, memory andcircuitry for providing the functionality described herein. As such, acomputing system may include any one or all of modems, routers, networkswitches, network bridges, residential gateways (RG), access nodes (AN),bridged residential gateway (BRG), fixed mobile convergence products,home networking adapters and Internet access gateways that enableconsumers to access communications service providers' services,satellite or cable set top boxes, laptop computers, rack mountedcomputers, routers, cellular telephones, smart phones, personal ormobile multi-media players, personal data assistants (PDAs),customer-premises equipment (CPE), personal computers, tablet computers,smart books, palm-top computers, desk-top computers, wireless electronicmail receivers, multimedia Internet enabled cellular telephones,wireless gaming controllers, streaming media players (for example,ROKUTM) smart televisions, digital video recorders (DVRs), and similarelectronic devices which include a programmable processor and memory andcircuitry for providing the functionality described herein.

The term “user equipment (UE)” may be used herein to refer to any one orall of satellite or cable set top boxes, laptop computers, rack mountedcomputers, routers, cellular telephones, smart phones, personal ormobile multi-media players, personal data assistants (PDAs),customer-premises equipment (CPE), personal computers, tablet computers,smart books, palm-top computers, desk-top computers, wireless electronicmail receivers, multimedia Internet enabled cellular telephones,wireless gaming controllers, streaming media players (such as, ROKUTM),smart televisions, digital video recorders (DVRs), modems, routers,network switches, residential gateways (RG), access nodes (AN), bridgedresidential gateway (BRG), fixed mobile convergence products, homenetworking adapters and Internet access gateways that enable consumersto access communications service providers' services and distribute themaround their house via a local area network (LAN), and similarelectronic devices which include a programmable processor and memory andcircuitry for providing the functionality described herein.

The terms “theft of service device” and “TOS device” may be usedinterchangeably herein to refer to a device that allows a person orentity to obtain access to a network resource or service withoutlawfully compensating the service provider network.

The term “illegitimate device” is used herein to refer to a media accesscontrol (MAC) address or device (e.g., cable modem, etc.) that is notbeing used or operated in accordance with standards, policies or rulesset forth by a service provider network. For example, an illegitimatedevice may be an unauthorized device that uses the resources or servicesof the service provider network without proper authorization from theservice provider network and/or without lawfully compensating theservice provider network. An illegitimate device may also be a devicethat is authorized to use the resources or services of the serviceprovider network, but which has been hijacked or is otherwise not beingused or operated in accordance with standards, policies or rules setforth by the service provider network.

A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directionaldata communication via radio frequency channels on coaxial cableinfrastructure, a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass(RFoG) or other similar technologies. Cable modems are primarily used todeliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, takingadvantage of the high bandwidth of a HFC or RFoG network. For ease ofreference, some of the embodiments in this application are discussedwith reference to a modem or cable modem. While the embodiments areparticularly useful for identifying and responding to modems and otheredge devices that register with a cable modem termination system (CMTS),it should be understood that the embodiments may apply to any type ofcomputing system that uses IP connectivity. Therefore, the variousembodiments disclosed in this application should not be limited in scopeto modems or cable modems unless expressly recited.

Many subscribers connect to the Internet via a customer premiseequipment (CPE) component/device. A CPE device may include a cablemodem, digital subscriber line modem, router, switch, firewall, packetfilter, wireless access point, and/or a residential gateway that providenetwork connectivity to home or small office network. In particular, aCPE device may allow UE devices on the local area network (LAN) toconnect to a wide area network (WAN) and ultimately the Internet.

The various embodiments improve the performance, efficiency andfunctioning of the service provider network and the components/devicesthat are included in, utilize, or benefit from the service providernetwork.

FIG. 1 is a simplified example of a network 100 that may be used toimplement the various embodiments. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1,the network 100 includes a local area network (LAN) 101 that includesuser equipment (UE) 102 devices, a customer premise equipment (CPE) 106component/device, and a wireless extender or access point 108. The UE102 devices may be coupled to the CPE 106 component/device via wiredand/or wireless communication links. The CPE 106 may include a cablemodem (CM) that is coupled to a digital subscriber line accessmultiplexer (DSLAM) or a cable modem termination system (CMTS) 110. TheCM in the CPE 106 component/device may be a network bridge that providesbi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on ahybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) and/or radio frequency over glass (RFoG)infrastructure.

The CMTS 110 may be configured to facilitate high speed communicationsbetween the CPE 106 and the components within a service provider network114, which allow the UE 102 devices to send and receive information toand from the Internet 116. The CMTS 110 component may be deployed in aheadend or hubsite which serves thousands of homes or LANs 101.

The service provider network 114 may include and/or may be coupled to adata analytics system 118 suitable or analyzing and storing information.The service provider network 114 may also include various networkcomponents for providing consumers with access to the Internet 116 or IPservices over broadband connections. For example, the service providernetwork 114 may include a subscriber management component configured tostore subscriber information and/or perform various subscriptionmanagement operations, a policy component configured to determine and/orenforce various rules and policy decisions, a datacenter component, avirtual machine component, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 in which the upstream communicationsignals between a CPE 106 and CMTS 110 are impaired. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2, the CPE 106 transmits a main RF signal in theupstream path towards the CMTS 110. As the signal propagates through thecoaxial cable, the signal experiences a coupling loss, isolation,impedance mismatch, micro-reflection, etc. For example, corrosion on acenter seizure screw where the coax cable enters an RF amplifier or aphysical tap 202 a may cause some of the RF energy from the CPE 106 topropagate on the downstream and eventually hit physical tap 202 b. Thephysical tap 202 b may include components that prevent upstream signalsfrom passing on the downstream, which may cause the original reflectedsignal to be reflected back towards the CMTS 110. As a result, the CMTSwill receive an impaired signal 206 that includes both the main signaland a reflected signal.

To mitigate against such impairments, the CMTS 110 may be configured toevaluate the communication signals received from the CPE 106 todetermine whether the signal is impaired and/or identify the cause(e.g., tilt, roll-off, in-channel standing waves, etc.) of an impairment(e.g., micro-reflections, group delay, etc.). The CMTS 110 mayperiodically inform or instruct the CPE 106 to pre-distort its signal tocancel out the effects of that impairment. For example, the CMTS 110 mayinstruct the CPE 106 to send a modified signal so that whenpre-equalization data from the CPE 106 is received by the CMTS 110, thesignal is much closer to an ideal signal.

In some embodiments, the system 200 may also include DOCSIS proactivenetwork maintenance (PNM) component that allows the service provider toidentify faults before service is impacted for the subscriber. The PNMcomponent may use pre-equalization data from CPEs 106 to identifyupstream impairments (e.g., micro-reflections, group delay, etc.) thatcould impact service. The PNM component may evaluate thepre-equalization coefficients to identify the CMTS 110 components thatinclude CPE 106 devices that are compensating for impairments likemicro-reflections and group delay.

As mentioned above, a CMTS 110 may inform or instruct a CPE 106 todistort (or pre-distort) its signal to cancel out the effects of animpairment, and a PNM component may identify the CMTS 110 componentsthat include CPE 106 devices that are compensating for impairments.

A single CMTS 110 may serve thousands of homes, LANs 101 or CPEs 106.Many service providers have visibility into the CMTS 110, but not theindividual CPEs 106. Some service providers, such as multiple-systemoperators (MSOs), may have visibility into the CPEs 106, but not intowhich taps correlate with which CPEs 106. For these and other reasons,it may be challenging to identify the physical locations of specificCPEs 106 serviced by a CMTS 110 (e.g., based solely on the physicallocation of the CMTS 110, etc.).

Some embodiments may include smart tap devices, which may be configuredto alter the pre-equalization coefficients and/or RF communications fromthat which is configured on the CMTS to a given CPE device. By alteringthe pre-equalization coefficients and/or RF communications, the smarttap devices may cause their corresponding CPE devices to alert theirassociated CMTS of impaired operation. The smart tap devices (or anothercomponent in the network) may correlate the CPE device that reports theimpaired condition with that of the configuration of the remote deviceconfiguration altering the RF communications so that physical locationof the CPE device in question on the communications network can bedetermined. By knowing the physical communications network location, aphysical address may be determined. This can be useful fortroubleshooting network problems, locating compromised devices used inTheft-of-Service, as well as for aiding law-enforcement requests.

FIG. 3 illustrates an activity diagram of a system 300 configured todetermine the physical location of a CPE 106 to within one hundred (100)or one hundred and fifty (150) feet. In the example illustrated in FIG.3, the system 300 includes a data analytics system 302, a datarepository 304, a network element management system (NEMS) 306, a CMTS110, a configurable coaxial tap 202, and a given CPE 106.

In operation 320, the NEMS 306 may send a CMTS service group RFconfiguration to the CMTS 110. The CMTS service group RF configurationmay include information identifying the characteristics of devices thatshare a common impairment. The NEMS 306 may poll the CMTS 110 toidentify or evaluate all the modems that may be connected to the CMTS110 and determine or evaluate the corresponding service group to whichthose modems are connected. Further, in some embodiments, the smart tapmay include a modem that is configured to gather telemetry from thesmart tap device. The smart tap modem may also be known to CMTS 110, anda correlation may be built as to CMTS service group→modems and smarttaps. In some embodiments, as part of operation 320, the NEMS 306 maysend a message to the smart tap to cause the smart tap to slightlyimpair one port at a time. The NEMS 306 may then re-poll the CMTS 110 toidentify which modem has the corresponding impairment that was signaledto the smart tap. A new correlation may be built to show therelationship between the CMTS service group, smart tap identifier andthe modem IP/MAC address. For example, the NEMS 306 may generate a modemto tap correlation information structure that includes informationfield/value that correlates a CMTS service group with a smart tapidentifier and a modem IP/MAC address.

In operations 322 and 324, the CMTS 110 and CPE 106 may perform variousoperations to establish network connectivity.

In operation 326, the CMTS 110 may store information identifying the CPE106 in the data repository 304.

In operation 328, the NEMS 306 may send an alteration request to theconfigurable coaxial tap 202 to alter the characteristics of the tap 202and/or manipulate the RF characteristics of the CPE 106.

In some embodiments, the NEMS 306 may send the alteration request inresponse to determining that tap 202 has been installed and/or inresponse to determining that a new CPE 106 has come online via the tap202. In some embodiments, the NEMS 306 may send the alteration requestperiodically (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). In some embodiments,the NEMS 306 may send the alteration request based on utilizationtriggers. For example, the NEMS 306 may monitor bandwidth usage (e.g.,via other components in the network) and/or set a bandwidth utilizationtrigger, and send the alteration request in response to detecting atrigger event or in response to determining that the bandwidth usagelevels exceed a threshold value.

In operation 330, the NEMS 306 may store the alteration request orinformation regarding the alteration of the characteristics of the tap202 in the data repository 304.

In operation block 329 and/or operation 332, the CPE 106 may commencedetecting and reporting impaired operation to the CMTS 110, which mayforward the reports to the NEMS 306 for storing in the data repository304.

In operation 334, the NEMS 306 may send an un-alteration request to theconfigurable coaxial tap 202 to undo the alterations of thecharacteristics of the tap 202 and/or to correct or undo the manipulatedRF characteristics of the CPE 106. By impairing the modem and returningthe modem back to normal operation, the system may better verify thatthe modem to tap correlation is correct. The NEMS 306 system and/or thedata analytics systems may track each occurrence to help validate thetap to modem correlation.

In operation 336, the NEMS 306 may store an un-alteration request and/orinformation regarding the un-alteration of the characteristics of thetap 202 in the data repository 304.

In operation block 335 and/or operation 338, the CPE 106 may commencereporting full/normal operation to the CMTS 110, which may forward thereports to the NEMS 306 for storing in the data repository 304.

In operations 340 and 344, the data analytics system 302 and datarepository 304 may communicate and perform various operations to analyzethe collected/stored information, generate or update modem-tap-portcorrelations, and store the generated/updated modem-tap-portcorrelations in memory. The information may be cross referenced with atheft of service analytics engine. The analytics engine may evaluate allthe modem MAC information and DHCP information that is configured on thenetwork in order to determine potential theft of service modems. The tapto modem correlation may be reference to identify the physical locationof potential theft. If there is a law enforcement officer (LEO) order ona particular MAC/IP, the tap to modem correlation may be used inconjunction with billing information on the physical location. If thatparticular modem is theft of service, then the tap to modem correlationmay be used to identify the physical location within 100-150 footradius.

The modem-tap-port correlations may be used to identify, either bydeduction or induction, the physical location of legitimate attachedcable modems, as well as the rogue devices. The legitimate devices willhave entries in the billing systems, whereas rogue devices will not.Cloned devices will show up as multiple entries in the Data Repository,but not in the billing system. These rogue devices may be isolated andlocated by using the tap-connector information with the physical(mailing or GPS address) of known good devices. Some additionalprocessing, likely a combination of both computational and “analog”investigative techniques performed by humans will be needed to fill inthe blanks. Periodic sweeps of the network could also be used todetermine and locate bad actors that are using rogue devices that havealtered the drop connection to change the connector on the configurablecoaxial tap.

Unlike conventional solutions in which components in the serviceprovider network may only determine the location of a CMTS that servicesa rogue or irregular CPE device, the modem-tap-port correlations allowthe components in the service provider network to determine the tap towhich CPE device is attached. Since taps are typically dropped within100-150 feet of the CPE device, rather than simply determining thegeneral region/area (e.g., within 10, 15, 20, 30 miles) in which arogue/irregular device operates, the embodiments allow the components inthe service provider network to identify the street on which the CPE islocated.

FIG. 4 illustrates an activity diagram of alternative operations in asystem 400 configured to determine the physical location of a CPE 106 towithin one hundred (100) or one hundred and fifty (150) feet. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 4, the system 400 includes a data analyticssystem 302, a data repository 304, a network element management system(NEMS) 306, a CMTS 110, a configurable coaxial tap 202, and a CPE 106.The configurable coaxial tap 202 may include a modulator-demodulatorand/or a packet sniffer/decoder.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in operations 320-326, the system mayperform the same operations discussed above with reference to FIG. 3. Inoperation 402, the configurable coaxial tap 202 may store informationidentifying the CM/CPE 106 along with tap connection information in thedata repository 304. In operations 340 and 344, the data analyticssystem 302 and the data repository 304 may communicate and performvarious operations to analyze the collected/stored information, generateor update modem-tap-port correlations, and store the generated/updatedmodem-tap-port correlations in memory. Modulating and/or demodulatingand packet sniffing at the tap may provide operators another point inthe network to execute LEO orders on packet interception.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system 500 that may be configured to perform theoperations discussed above with reference to FIG. 4. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 5, the system 500 includes a plurality of CPEdevices 106 a-106 d, a CMTS 110, configurable coaxial tap 202, an RFcombining network 502, and a DOCSIS cable modem 504. The configurablecoaxial tap 202 may include a reporting subsystem 506, a packet decoder508, and a DOCSIS modulator and demodulator 510. The reporting subsystem506 may be communicatively coupled to the DOCSIS cable modem 504. The RFcombining network 502 may be communicatively coupled to the plurality ofCPE devices 106 a-106 d, DOCSIS cable modem 504, and CMTS device 110.The plurality of CPE devices 106 a-106 d may be coupled to the DOCSISmodulator and demodulator 510 via a switch 512.

In some embodiments, the reporting subsystem 506 may be included withinor communicatively coupled to a data center (e.g., regional data center,etc.) or backoffice. In some embodiments, the configurable tap 202 maybe communicatively coupled to the reporting subsystem 506 and/orbackoffice where data could be stored for further analytical analysis.

The DOCSIS modulator and demodulator 510 may include modulators, such asan Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and/or a Digital to AnalogConverter (DAC), that modulate/demodulate the signal. This allows thepacket coder 508 or DOCSIS analyzer to decode the DOCSIS frame andheader to read the device's MAC and IP address.

In some embodiments, from the CMTS 110 within a headend, there may be aRF combining network 502 to transmitter/receivers to a node 552 that ispart of a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) plant 550. Logically behind thenode, there may be amplifiers 554 and taps (e.g., configurable coaxialtap 202). Each tap port may be communicatively coupled to DOCSIS cablemodem 504 and/or CPE devices 106 a-d.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example architecture of a configurable coaxial tap202 suitable for implementing the various embodiments. The configurablecoaxial tap 202 may include an application processor 602, a coprocessor604, memory 606, a cable modem 608, a network processor 610, aninterconnection/bus component 612, a radio frequency (RF) digital switch614, a power supply 616 and a voltage regulator 618.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the configurable coaxial tap 202includes two radio frequency (RF) main line ports 620 a, 620 b (alsosometime called “trunk ports”) and four RF drop ports 630 a-630 d. Insome embodiments, the configurable coaxial tap 202 may include four (4)different RF main line ports (trunk ports).

The ports 620 a, 620 b may attach to the hard line of the hybridfiber-coaxial (HFC) plant and/or feed other configurable coaxial taps incascade. The RF drop ports 630 a-630 d may service up to four homesdirectly, typically up to 150 feet.

The configurable coaxial tap 202 may be configured to remotely monitorall of the ports 620 a-630 d both in the upstream and downstreamfrequencies. Through software, each ports 620 a-630 d may have a dynamicfilter and/or the ability to filter out unwanted ingress. Because eachport 620 a-630 d is connected to the RF digital switch 614, each port620 a-630 d may have a power spectral density threshold set on each port620 a-630 d and each port 620 a-630 d may have the ability to frequencyshift from input to output. The digital switch 614 may also performamplification, so that the entire HFC plant would not requiretraditional amplification.

The interconnection/bus component 612 which may include an array ofreconfigurable logic gates and/or implement a bus architecture (e.g.,CoreConnect, AMBA, etc.). Communications may also be provided byadvanced interconnects, such as high performance networks-on chip(NoCs).

In addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 6, the configurablecoaxial tap 202 may include analog circuitry and custom circuitry formanaging sensor data, wireless data transmissions, and for performingother specialized operations, such as processing IP data packets. Theconfigurable coaxial tap 202 may include system components andresources, such as a power supply 616, a voltage regulator 618,oscillators, phase-locked loops, peripheral bridges, data controllers,memory controllers, system controllers, access ports, timers, and othersimilar components used to support the processors and software clients(e.g., a web browser) running on a computing device. The configurablecoaxial tap 202 may include an input/output module for communicatingwith external resources and/or include circuitry to interface withperipheral devices, such as electronic displays, wireless communicationdevices, external memory chips, etc.

Each of the processors (e.g., processors 602, 604, 608, 610, etc.) mayinclude one or more cores, and each processor/core may performoperations independent of the other processors/cores. For example, insome embodiments, the network processor may include a packet processor(e.g., P4 programmable packet processor) suitable for processing IP datapackets. In some embodiments, the processors may be implemented via anapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC). In some embodiments,the processors may be implemented via a customized integrated circuit(IC) (e.g., customized for a particular routing use, etc.).

In addition to the configurable coaxial tap 202 discussed above, thevarious embodiments may be implemented in a wide variety of computingsystems, which may include a single processor, multiple processors,multicore processors, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system 700 architecture that may be usedin network components (e.g., configurable coaxial tap 202, networkelement management system 306, etc.) configured in accordance withvarious embodiments. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the system700 includes a clock/reset component 702, a peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) component 704, a central processing unit (CPU) mediaaccess control (MAC) component 706, a direct memory access (DMA) enginecomponent 708, and a control and configuration component 710. The system700 includes a plurality of processing blocks 712 that implement aswitch architecture that could be partitioned and/or controlled by thevarious embodiments. In the illustrated example, the processing blocks712 each include or utilize a receiver MACs component 714, an ingresspipeline component 716, a traffic manager component 718, an egresspipeline component 720, and a transmission MAC component 722.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate methods 800, 850 that may be performed by oneor more components (e.g., smart configurable coaxial tap 202 and/or anetwork element management system 306, etc.) to determine the locationof a CPE device in accordance with some embodiments.

With reference to FIG. 8A, in block 802, a component (e.g., networkelement management system 306) may send an alteration request to theconfigurable coaxial tap to alter the characteristics of theconfigurable coaxial tap 202 and/or to manipulate the radio frequency(RF) characteristics of a customer premise device (CPE) 106 coupled tothe configurable coaxial tap 202. In block 804, the component may sendalteration information to a data repository 304. In block 806, thecomponent may receive impaired operation reports from a cable modemtermination system 110 and sendrelay the received impaired operationreports to the data repository 304. In block 808, the component may sendan un-alteration request (i.e., 334) to the configurable coaxial tap 202to undo the alterations to the characteristics of the configurablecoaxial tap and/or to correct or undo the manipulated RF characteristicsof the CPE 106. In block 810, the component may send un-alterationinformation (i.e., 336) to the data repository 304. In block 812, thecomponent may receive restored operation reports from the cable modemtermination system 110 and send the restored operation reports to thedata repository 304.

With reference to FIG. 8B, in block 852, a component may receive animpairment report from a cable modem or a customer premise device (CPE)106. In block 854, the component may identify executions of impairmentactions by configurable taps 202. In block 856, the component maygenerate modem-tap-port correlations, such as by time aligning areported impairment with an identified execution of the impairmentaction. In some embodiments, the component may generate themodem-tap-port correlations based on any or all of informationidentifying the CPE 106, alteration information, impaired operationreports, un-alteration information, and/or restored operation reports.

In block 858, the component may receive billing information from thebilling system. In block 860, the component may use received billinginformation to determine whether the cable modem/CPE device 106 is aknown device (i.e., legitimate device) or an unknown device (i.e., rougedevice). In optional block 862, the component may use received billinginformation and the generated modem-tap-port correlations to determinethe physical address of the cable modem/CPE device 106.

In some embodiments, the configurable coaxial tap 202 may be configuredto create an impairment (e.g., micro-reflections, group delay, etc.)scenario. In some embodiments, this may be accomplished by loweringtransmit levels, for example, so the modem will need to “step down” inmodulation order. In other embodiments, this may be accomplished byblocking some subset of OFDM subcarriers to impair performance, etc. Insome embodiments, the configurable coaxial tap 202 may be configured tocreate the impairment in response to receiving an alteration request(e.g., as part of the operations in block 802, etc.).

In some embodiments, the network element management system 306 may beaugmented with functionally that allows it to be able to address,configure, and control the tap devices (e.g., the configurable coaxialtap 202, etc.).

In some embodiments, the network element management system 306 may beconfigured to control the radio frequency (RF) performancecharacteristics of the smart tap (configurable coaxial tap 202) toreveal the physical location of the attached device (e.g., as part ofthe operation in block 862, etc.). In some embodiments, the smart-tapmay include a RF modulator-demodulator combination that could be used todirectly examine the packets sent and received from a target cablemodem. This may be used to determine the connected port, but can also beused as a direct monitoring device suitable for legal-interceptpurposes.

In some embodiments, the network element management system 306 may beconfigured to coordinate the scheduling of the impairments.

In some embodiments, the system may further include a data repositorythat is configured to store the scheduling and reports of theimpairments.

In some embodiments, the system may further include a data analyticssystem configured to analyze logs, files, memories, etc. that store theimpairment(s) being set/reported/unset/unreported.

In some embodiments, each CMTS may include one or more CMTS ports. EachCMTS port may include one or more configurable coaxial taps 202. Eachconfigurable coaxial tap 202 may include one or more tap ports.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured so that for each tapport of each tap of each CMTS port of each CMTS, the system aligns thecable modem reporting impairment issue that is time-aligned with theexecution of the impairment action by the configurable coaxial tap 202.This may need to be repeated continuously or multiple time so as tosettle out simultaneous legitimate impairments, perhaps using differingimpairment scenarios. Additionally, the data analytics system maycorrelate with a billing system to locate known versus unknown devicesas well as correlation with physical addresses.

Various embodiments illustrated and described are provided merely asexamples to illustrate various features of the claims. However, featuresshown and described with respect to any given embodiment are notnecessarily limited to the associated embodiment and may be used orcombined with other embodiments that are shown and described. Further,the claims are not intended to be limited by any one example embodiment.For example, one or more of the operations of the method 800 may besubstituted for or combined with one or more operations of the method850, and vice versa.

Various embodiments (including, but not limited to, embodimentsdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 1A-8B) may be implemented on anyof a variety of commercially available computing devices, such as thecomputing device 900 illustrated in FIG. 9. Such a computing device 900may include a processor 901 coupled to volatile memory 902 and a largecapacity nonvolatile memory, such as a disk drive 903. The computingdevice 900 may also include network access ports 906 coupled to theprocessor 901 for establishing data connections with a networkconnection circuit 904 and a communication network (e.g., IP network)coupled to other communication system network elements.

The processors discussed in this application may be any programmablemicroprocessor, microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips thatcan be configured by software instructions (applications) to perform avariety of functions, including the functions of the various embodimentsdescribed above. In some devices, multiple processors may be provided,such as one processor dedicated to wireless communication functions andone processor dedicated to running other applications. Typically,software applications may be stored in the internal memory before theyare accessed and loaded into the processors. The processors may includeinternal memory sufficient to store the application softwareinstructions. In many devices, the internal memory may be a volatile ornonvolatile memory, such as flash memory, or a mixture of both. For thepurposes of this description, a general reference to memory refers tomemory accessible by the processors including internal memory orremovable memory plugged into the device and memory within theprocessors themselves. Additionally, as used herein, any reference to amemory may be a reference to a memory storage and the terms may be usedinterchangeable.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in anyorder. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intendedto limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guidethe reader through the description of the methods. Further, anyreference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using thearticles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting theelement to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logicalblocks, modules, components, and circuits described in connection withthe embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Alternatively, some steps or methods may be performed bycircuitry that is specific to a given function.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium ornon-transitory processor-readable medium. The steps of a method oralgorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a processor-executablesoftware module and/or processor-executable instructions, which mayreside on a non-transitory computer-readable or non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium. Non-transitory server-readable,computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may be any storagemedia that may be accessed by a computer or a processor. By way ofexample but not limitation, such non-transitory server-readable,computer-readable or processor-readable media may include RAM, ROM,EEPROM, FLASH memory, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium thatmay be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions ordata structures and that may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc,as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,DVD, floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofnon-transitory server-readable, computer-readable and processor-readablemedia. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may resideas one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on anon-transitory server-readable, processor-readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of evaluating a customer premiseequipment (CPE) device, comprising: sending, via a processor in anetwork element management system, an alteration request to aconfigurable coaxial tap, the alteration request causing theconfigurable coaxial tap to: alter the characteristics of theconfigurable coaxial tap; or manipulate the radio frequency (RF)characteristics of the CPE device coupled to the configurable coaxialtap; receiving impaired operation reports from a cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS); sending an un-alteration request to the configurablecoaxial tap, the un-alteration request causing the configurable coaxialtap to: undo the alterations to the characteristics of the configurablecoaxial tap; or undo the manipulated RF characteristics of the CPE; andreceiving restored operation reports from the CMTS.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising generating a modem-tap-port correlation. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a physicallocation of the CPE based on a modem-tap-port correlation.
 4. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: determining a physical location of theCPE; and determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the CPE basedon the determined physical location of the CPE.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising: determining a physical location of the CPE; anddetermining a media access control (MAC) address of the CPE based on thedetermined physical location of the CPE.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving information identifying the CPE; receivingalteration information; receiving the impaired operation reports; andgenerating a modem-tap-port correlation based on the receivedinformation identifying the CPE, the received alteration information,and the received impaired operation report.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving un-alteration information; receivingrestored operation reports; and generating a modem-tap-port correlationbased on the received un-alteration information, and the receivedrestored operation reports.
 8. A computing device, comprising: aprocessor configured with processor-executable software instructions to:send an alteration request to a configurable coaxial tap, the alterationrequest causing the configurable coaxial tap to: alter thecharacteristics of the configurable coaxial tap; or manipulate the radiofrequency (RF) characteristics of a customer premise equipment (CPE)device coupled to the configurable coaxial tap; receive impairedoperation reports from a cable modem termination system (CMTS); send anun-alteration request to the configurable coaxial tap, the un-alterationrequest causing the configurable coaxial tap to: undo the alterations tothe characteristics of the configurable coaxial tap; or undo themanipulated RF characteristics of the CPE; and receive restoredoperation reports from the CMTS.
 9. The computing device of claim 8,wherein the processor is further configured to generate a modem-tap-portcorrelation.
 10. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the processoris further configured to determine a physical location of the CPE basedon a modem-tap-port correlation.
 11. The computing device of claim 8,wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a physicallocation of the CPE; and determine an Internet Protocol (IP) address ofthe CPE based on the determined physical location of the CPE.
 12. Thecomputing device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configuredto: determine a physical location of the CPE; and determine a mediaaccess control (MAC) address of the CPE based on the determined physicallocation of the CPE.
 13. The computing device of claim 8, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: receive information identifying theCPE; receive alteration information; receive the impaired operationreports; and generate a modem-tap-port correlation based on the receivedinformation identifying the CPE, the received alteration information,and the received impaired operation report.
 14. The computing device ofclaim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to: receiveun-alteration information; receive restored operation reports; andgenerate a modem-tap-port correlation based on the receivedun-alteration information, and the received restored operation reports.15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having storedthereon processor-executable software instructions configured to cause aprocessor to perform operations comprising: sending an alterationrequest to a configurable coaxial tap, the alteration request causingthe configurable coaxial tap to: alter the characteristics of theconfigurable coaxial tap; or manipulate the radio frequency (RF)characteristics of a customer premise equipment (CPE) device coupled tothe configurable coaxial tap; receiving impaired operation reports froma cable modem termination system (CMTS); sending an un-alterationrequest to the configurable coaxial tap, the un-alteration requestcausing the configurable coaxial tap to: undo the alterations to thecharacteristics of the configurable coaxial tap; or undo the manipulatedRF characteristics of the CPE; and receiving restored operation reportsfrom the CMTS.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumof claim 15, wherein the stored processor-executable softwareinstructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operationsfurther comprising generating a modem-tap-port correlation.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thestored processor-executable software instructions are configured tocause a processor to perform operations further comprising determining aphysical location of the CPE based on a modem-tap-port correlation. 18.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe stored processor-executable software instructions are configured tocause a processor to perform operations further comprising: determininga physical location of the CPE; and determining an Internet Protocol(IP) address or a media access control (MAC) address of the CPE based onthe determined physical location of the CPE.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the storedprocessor-executable software instructions are configured to cause aprocessor to perform operations further comprising: receivinginformation identifying the CPE; receiving alteration information;receiving the impaired operation reports; and generating amodem-tap-port correlation based on the received information identifyingthe CPE, the received alteration information, and the received impairedoperation report.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the stored processor-executable softwareinstructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operationsfurther comprising: receiving un-alteration information; receivingrestored operation reports; and generating a modem-tap-port correlationbased on the received un-alteration information, and the receivedrestored operation reports.